41^st ESLAB Symposium

The Impact of HST on European Astronomy

29 May to 1 June, 2007

ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

 

Welcome message

Since its launch in 1990 the Hubble Space Telescope has made major contributions to all areas of astronomy and astrophysics. These range from the study of nearby planets, the processes of star and planet formation, the stellar and interstellar components of galaxies, the discovery that most, if not all, galactic nuclei harbor a massive black hole that profoundly affects their evolution, to the realisation that the universe as a whole is undergoing acceleration as a result of a yet unknown form of “dark energy”.

European astronomers have made significant contributions to projects that have led to unprecedented progress in our understanding. However, the impact of HST goes beyond these direct contributions and continues to shape the key questions that need to be addressed not only with HST but with other space and ground based observatories. In addition Hubble has had an important role on the performance and productivity of several European facilities, most notably on the VLT. Programmes such as GOODS and COSMOS are a direct result of this. Other important missions that have benefited from the HST are XMM-Newton and in the future, Herschel and ALMA.

The primary aim of the 41st ESLAB symposium is to review the key contribution that HST has made in all areas of astronomy and emphasise their impact on European astronomical research. The symposium, which is limited to no more than 120 participants, will consist of a series of review talks, each covering key topical areas of astronomy and astrophysics, followed by specialised talks in those areas. Poster sessions will provide ample opportunity to include recent and ongoing results in these areas.

Sessions on the following topics are envisaged:

• The solar system and extrasolar planets
• Stars and star clusters
• Formation, structure and evolution of galaxies
• Clusters of galaxies
• AGN and black holes
• Extragalactic distance scale and dark energy
• High-redshift universe

Confirmed invited speakers:

• David Axon: "Supermassive Black Holes"
• Paul Crowther: "Hot Massive Stars"
• Annette Ferguson: "The Stellar Population of M31"
• Robert Fosbury: "The Host Galaxy Properties of Powerful Radio Sources across Cosmic Time"
• Marijn Franx: "Evolution of Galaxies from Mass Selected Samples"
• Günther Hasinger: "Active Galactic Nuclei"
• Alain Lecavalier: "Atmospheres and Evaporation of Extrasolar Planets"
• Simon Lilly: "Galaxy Formation and Evolution"
• Piero Madau: "Galaxy Formation and Reionisation"
• Claude Nicollier: "The Astronaut's View"
• Alvio Renzini: "Stars and Stellar Systems"
• Adam Riess: "Universe Expansion"
• Hans-Walter Rix: "Deep Fields"
• Gustav Tammann: "The Hubble Constant"
• Monica Tosi: "Formation History of Resolved Stellar Populations"
• Tim de Zeeuw: "The Nature of Bulges and Spheroids"





Maintained by Britt Sjoeberg <bsjoeberg@eso.org>